In Our Darkest Hour
by Mindful Demon
Summary: No fearful, panicking voices. No sirens. She lay there in the silence, eyes closing again as she heard the ticking of the clock cease. It was as if time itself had stopped... Because for all intents and purposes, it had. Joy/Patricia. Post-apocalypse.
1. Prologue

In Our Darkest Hour

"_World's gone to shit, might as well quit."_

_-Anonymous, The Walking Dead_

_Anubis House, 0600 hours_

The world was holding its breath. Patricia held Joy tightly to her chest, doing all that she could to calm the quaking girl down and keep her quiet. Tense and unmoving in the darkness under Patricia's bed, the two lay together on their sides, the goth girl holding the terrified and whimpering little brunette close to her body and praying to every divine she'd ever known.

A floorboard creaked just outside the door, and Patricia felt Joy quake with a silent choke of fear. Joy was clinging to her friend so tightly that in any other situation Patricia may have shifted to get more comfortable, or whispered soft reassurances in her ear, her voice soothing the storm. But not now.

No, for now her breath would remain caught in her throat. She wouldn't stay here and cling to the only light in this darkness, cursing the gods and pleading with the devil.

The entire world was silent. Nothing but the faint sound of the wind whistling outside, the creaks of the old worn house. Staggering, dragged feet just outside the door. Occasional shallow, rattling breaths.

Patricia closed her eyes and listened, her heart pounding, until she heard the footfalls grow more and more distant with time.

Silence.

Nothing but the wind.

No fearful, panicking voices. No sirens. She lay there in the silence, eyes closing again as she heard the ticking of the clock cease.

As they lay there holding each other close in the dead quiet, it was as if time itself had stopped.

And for all intents and purposes, it had.


	2. Chapter 1

_"This isn't real, this can't be happening! It's not h...happening... R...right m... m...Mom? I j...just have to wake up and go t...to s...school..."_

_-Anonymous student moments before suicide, High School of the Dead_

_[House of Anubis, 0500 Hours]_

"Joy! Joy, _wake up!_"

Joy opened her eyes wearily, still half asleep. "Patricia...? What're you..."

Patricia looked at her with concern evident in her blue eyes. "You were shouting in your sleep again. Have the dreams come back? Since, you know, Rufus?"

Joy flinched a little at the mention of the event, looking miserable and confused. "I don't know. I can't remember," then, almost as if in dismay, "Patricia, why can't I remember! It was so _real_, it was _right there_, and I just, and then I woke up and it's just gone Patricia! Why can't I remember! What's _wrong_ with me!"

"Shh, Joy, Joy, listen to me... There's nothing wrong with you. Nothing at all, hear me?" Patricia looked her in the eye, deep blue on chocolate brown, as if searching for something. "Got it? Nothing wrong with you."

After a moment, Joy nodded slowly. "Okay," she whispered, giving her girlfriend a tiny smile.

Patricia smiled back, kissing her on the nose, then briefly on her lips. "Damn straight," she teased, and Joy smiled lightly.

"Straight? Good one," she said coyly, and Patricia chuckled.

"Right? Quite proud of myself," she joked, then, "Come on, let's go get some breakfast. Trudy won't be up for ages yet. We could take a walk if you'd like, too?"

A small smile tugged at Joy's lips as she got to her feet and ran a brush through her hair. "Sure, sounds good!" she agreed happily, already back to her normal self.

Patricia looked relieved. "So you're feeling better then?"

"Yeah. It was just a silly dream. I'll be fine," she assured her girlfriend, heading into the bathroom to put on her makeup. Patricia came up behind her as she applied her mascara, rolling her eyes.

"Why do you bother with that stuff? Nobody's gonna see us this early in the morning." she said, looking at the makeup with disdain. Then, a suggestive and affectionate grin on her face, "Besides, I like you just. The. Way. You. Are." she said pointedly, moving Joy's sleek brown ponytail out of the way and accenting every word with a kiss on the back of her neck. Joy blushed, grinning like a thief who'd just gotten away with the heist of the century.

"Oh really now?" she asked with feigned innocence as she turned on her heels to face her girlfriend, smirking and quirking a brow.

"Yep." Patricia confirmed. "Really. Now screw the makeup and lets go yeah?"

Joy sighed in defeat. "Right."

Only with the upmost caution did they sneak down the stairs into the kitchen, and Patricia started up the stove before deciding better of it. "Hey, look. Let's just wait for Trudy to get up, yeah? She can make actual food."

"As opposed to your fried eggs and cheese?" Joy questioned with feigned disappointment, pouting.

Patricia rolled her eyes. "Yeah. Cause the ashes that come out of the frying pan when I cook are definitely classifiable as food. Come on, screw the eggs. Let's get some fresh air," Patricia smiled, and Joy nodded.

"Kay," she agreed cheerily, kissing Patricia on the cheek as she brushed past her on her way to the door. "Come on then. Let's go."

"Gardens?" Patricia asked, though she already knew the answer. The gardens out by the gates of the school may not have been the best ones on the grounds, but for some reason they both adored the place. Though she wasn't sure of Joy's motivation, for Patricia, it was a little reminder that in a few more months, she would be out of this cage. She hated the place; though it was a far better alternative to the stupid, preppy school that Piper went to, she hated the feeling of being so trapped, so restrained. She missed the endless streets and dark alleyways of the city back home. Maybe some would consider this scenic place a welcome change from the alleys of London... But she was _not_ among them.

Joy was what made it worth it though. Patricia couldn't imagine life without the girl by her side. The thought itself made her uncomfortable.

…She wasn't a loner anymore.

The thought was strange.

"Hey. Penny for your thoughts?"

"Huh?"

"Penny for your thoughts," Joy repeated, smiling a little. "You looked a bit far away is all."

Patricia nodded absentmindedly, giving a hum of approval. "Hm. Yeah... Have you ever just wanted to get away? To just go someplace else?"

Taking her girlfriend's hand, Joy nodded her head slightly in agreement. "Yeah. You know I've always wanted to go to Paris... See the world... Just run away from here and never come back."

Patricia sighed, the brunette's words striking a chord in her as she stroked the back of Joy's hand with her thumb absentmindedly. "So what's stopping you, then?" she asked at last, and Joy looked at her.

"Hm?"

"I asked what's keeping you here, if you want to be free so badly."

"Oh." Joy smiled that small, charming smile, squeezing Patricia's hand gently in her own as she met her eyes. "You. I wouldn't want to go anywhere else. Not without you."

"...Same," Patricia answered quietly at last, smiling a little and kissing her softly on the cheek. "Love you."

Joy smiled. "Love you too."

The two walked in silence for a while, perfectly content just knowing that they were here and now. For billions of years the earth had been turning. Catastrophe after catastrophe, extinction after extinction, and yet of all times, of all places, of all decades and centuries and millenniums, they were here. Their lives were intertwined from the moment, from the _miracle_ that they'd met. And now they could share it together, such a tiny little speck on the radar of the universe, but a _lifetime_ to them.

It was a beautiful thought.

Suddenly, Joy stopped dead in her tracks.

Patricia looked at her searchingly, confused by the sudden halt. "Joy? What is it?"

A look of uncertainty flashed across Joy's face.

"I... I dunno. I thought I heard something." she said at last, uncertain.

Patricia gave her a reassuring smile. "Don't worry about it. We've been out here tons of times before. Probably just a rabbit like last time, remember that?"

Joy chuckled despite herself. "Yeah, well who would have known Patricia Williamson was afraid of a-"

The goth girl punched her girlfriend's shoulder playfully as the two continued walking, scowling indignantly. "I didn't know what it was, okay? Wasn't my fault!"

Joy rolled her eyes. "Yeah, yeah. That's what you-"

"Oh god. Who- Jesus. God. Fuck... Fuck."

Both girls felt their stomachs roll as they took in the sight before them.

It was so out of place. Blood soaked the ground at their feet. Mere meters away...

"Oh god. Is that a body?"

"Christ. Mr. Sweet. Fuck. Joy. Is he- oh god."

"God. Oh god. What could've- oh god. Fuck."

"...Call an ambulance. We have to get back to the house."

"But-"

"We have to get back to the house. I cant stay here with him like this. Oh god. Fuck."

"Patricia-"

"Just call a fucking ambulance. Oh god. Just... fuck. We have to get back to the house."

They turned and ran, leaving behind the mauled and bloody corpse of a man no older than forty-seven.

All was still as Erik Sweet's bloodied hands clawed at the dirt beneath his three remaining fingers, glassy, lifeless eyes shooting open to greet the world once more.


	3. Chapter 2

_"Have you seen 'em? The dead people? I ain't talkin' 'bout the ones they put down. I'm talkin' 'bout the ones they didn't."_

_-Morgan, The Walking Dead_

_[Anubis House, 05:10]_

"Victor! Trudy! _Anyone-_"

Joy's shout was cut off abruptly as Patricia clasped her hand over the smaller girl's mouth, earning a fearful and questioning glance as the goth girl stepped in front of her, glancing around uncertainly and holding out a hand in front of her smaller friend.

"Patricia-"

"I don't like this. Something's off."

Joy hesitated. "...Patricia we have to get hel-"

Patricia put a finger to her lips. "Listen," she said in a hushed whisper, pointing upwards. Joy took a shaky breath, straining her ears.

"...Footsteps?" she questioned quietly, heart pounding so loudly in her ears that she felt the entire world could hear.

"Yeah. But since when is Amber an early riser?"

"True," Joy agreed, sounding less than concerned about the matter. "She probably had to go to the bathroom or something. Patricia come on, we have to get help already!" she flicked the light switch as the two headed up the stairs, a small frown creasing her brow when nothing happened. "Patricia, power's out again, I... what is it?"

"_Shit._ Joy, it's _blood_. There's _blood_ on the stairs."

"What?"

"There's blood on the stairs. And on the railing. Look."

"Are you- Patricia give me your phone. I'm calling the police."

"Way ahead of you," the goth girl whispered, unable to tear her eyes from the dark stain at the base of the stairs.

The phone rang.

And rang.

And rang.

Finally,

"We're sorry, the line is busy. Please hang up and try again."

The world was silent. Her heart was pounding, her hands shaking as she ended the call and dialed the number again. Joy looked on blankly, breathing shaky and uneven as the magnitude of the situation sunk in.

.

"_We're sorry, the line is busy. Please hang up and try again."_


End file.
